Remorse
by QueenOfHearts1216
Summary: Remorse comes in two forms, wishing you had actually lived your life, and wishing you had lived your life the correct way. Pre-Hush! Riddler Story :D
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Ok, so this is my first fanfiction published on this site, so I'm very new to how this works. Any and all (constructive) criticism is appreciated. Please keep flames down to birthday candle level!

Anyways, I'm a huge Riddler fan, because I feel that there's something about him that is different than most of the other rogues, hopefully I can convey this to you effectively.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, anything you recognize, or think you recognize is not mine except the lovely Doctor Allison Capuano. I make no money off this. If I owned The Riddler I would be a very happy girl.

And thank you for reading!

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

Part I

Regret is mainly felt by two groups of people. First, there are those who didn't do anything spectacular with their lives. There were things they wished they'd done, jobs they wished they'd taken, people they wished they had loved, and the main questions that fill their minds usually begin with "What if…" They spend their lives playing it safe, and end up wishing they hadn't.

The second group is nearly the opposite, as it is full of those who live life a bit too wildly. They never thought twice about anything they ever did, and try not to look back, because sometimes, their pasts are just too gruesome. Their lives are full of risks taken, friends lost, and more than a fair share of mistakes.

And while they are on opposite ends of the spectrum, they both, in the end, share the immense feeling of remorse, wishing they had lived their lives differently.

Allison Capuano was part of our first group. All of her life, she had just blended into the background. In high school, she had skirted through her four years, maintaining an 87 average, graduating with only her group of friends really knowing her. She went on to medical school, despite really wanting to study art, and finally received her medical degree, and she got a job at Gotham General Hospital, playing it safe, as always.

Dr. Capuano was known throughout the hospital as being immensely nice, and even more as unable to say no to anyone. Another interesting piece of gossip concerning the good doctor was that she was irrevocably in love with her colleague Doctor James Wilder, although it was known that she was much too timid to ever act on it. Instead, she silently admired him, hoping that one day he would realize it, and feel the same for her. But she'd never act on those feelings. No, not when he was so… intimidating. That perfect jaw line, pouty lips, deep green eyes… _I could never…_

"Allison?" He was speaking to her. Talk dammit! He smiled patiently waiting for her response.

"Erm… yes James?" She nonchalantly placed the files for her patients on the counter, and pushed dark bangs out of her eyes.

"I know this is quite last minute, but would you be willing to cover my shift tomorrow? It's the midnight to noon shift." _Midnight to noon… after my noon to midnight that day. _ Allison knew what she was going to say, despite her better judgment.

"Sure James…" She smiled pleasantly. A full twenty four hours at the hospital was going to be torture. But she really couldn't resist those eyes of his. _I need to grow a backbone_. She mentally scolded herself, and decided she'd go home and rest before a long double shift ahead of her.

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

_Is it legal to work 34 hours straight?_ Allison wondered to herself, peeling off her sweaty, bloodstained scrubs. _I hope so…_ She glanced at her watch; it was almost 10:30. She groaned. The first twelve hadn't been too bad, the second twelve dragged a bit, and then, an hour before her double shift ended, all hell broke loose in Gotham. Within an hour there were fourteen injured from a gang fight, three random knifings, two car accidents, and around thirty civilians sick with fear from the Scarecrow's latest crime spree. After an additional ten hours of stitching, surgery, and administering antidotes, Allison's boss Lisa Craig had pulled her aside.

"How long have you been here?" Her voice was serious, yet concerned. Lisa arms were folded in business mode and her foot was tapping impatiently.

Allison, dazed at this point, held up fingers pretending to count the hours, even though she knew the exact amount. "Thirty-three hours and forty-five minutes," She mumbled.

Lisa's jaw dropped. "How many?"

"Almost thirty four," she managed to gasp out, rolling up the sleeves of her worn scrubs.

"Go home." Lisa placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're overworking yourself… and for what? James would be lucky to have you. You don't need to do him any favors." She had lowered her voice.

"What makes you think this is about Ja- Doctor Wilder?" Allison stated as professionally as she could manage.

"I'm the dean of medicine." Lisa rolled her eyes. "I know everything. Now, go home." And with that, Lisa had shooed her into the locker room.

After a brief hot shower, Allison pulled on her favorite sweat pants and was finally on her way home. Well… if she could find her car that is. It made her nervous, wandering around the deserted hospital parking lot at eleven o clock at night, searching for her car. You would think it would be easy to locate a sunny yellow Volkswagen beetle, but not when you couldn't remember which floor you had parked on. Allison groaned. This was going to take a while.

She was on the third floor of the parking garage when she spotted it, all the way at the other end of the room. _Feet don't fail me now._ She pleaded, becoming increasingly tired with each step. Allison paused for a moment, to catch her breath, and could have sworn she heard the sound of footsteps continuing after she had stopped walking.

"Hello?" She said out load. Living in Gotham all her life, Allison was a very superstitious person; you had to be when there were at least a dozen famed super villains who would kill you as fast as they would look at you.

Shaking off the thought, she finally approached her car, fumbling to get her keys in the lock. She opened the door, and smelt the faint smell of some sort of chemical somewhere behind her. After that, everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: I forgot to mention that this is my account of the events leading up to Eddie's involvement in the Hush story arc. Anyways, enjoy and please review!

Disclaimer: I still do not own The Riddler or anything else besides Doctor Capuano, sadly.

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

Part II

Waking up in an unfamiliar place is almost never a good thing. The uncertainty of how you got there, along with what is going to happen to you, always makes it a terrifying situation. Whether it is after a night of a drunken casual "encounter", or being the victim of a random kidnapping, it almost always means trouble.

That's why when Allison woke, finding her wrists and ankles bound, lying on the ice cold floor of some warehouse, her instant reaction was to scream. However, her desperate plea was muted by the gag in her mouth. _Oh my god._ She tried to calm herself, closing her eyes and opening them again. _This is a dream. I'm overworked. _ She continued opening and closing her eyes, hoping each time that she would find herself somewhere else. The lights flickered in the room, and a door slammed shut somewhere in the distance. Trying to fight the tears welling up in her eyes, she attempted making another noise, the product being a high pitched garbled sound.

"Boss, she's awake." A deep voice said behind her. _No I'm not. _She pleaded. _Just leave me alone._

"Good, now get out. I wish to have a chat with the good doctor _alone._" Another voice said. Allison was frozen at the sound of heavy footsteps coming nearer.

A man entered her field of vision; he was tall, slender, a purple mask rested over his eyes, a deep green bowler hat perched on his head, and a matching green suit. He was leaning up against a golden cane, topped with a glistening, glittering question mark. If she could have screamed, she would have, as she had been kidnapped by the Riddler.

Smirking at her apparent fear, he helped her into a sitting position. She looked down, letting more tears fall into her lap. _Please…_ She sniffled. "Oh no, no, no…" He shook his head, resting the question marked end of his cane under her chin, and lifting her head up. "There will be no tears here…" _If I cooperate, he'll have no reason to harm me, right? _He paused, waiting for her to stop. After a few moment of stifling her muted sobs, Allison was able to calm herself. "Excellent… now, do you know what a doctor, like yourself, and a rogue like me have in common?" He sneered.

Allison shook her head, honestly not knowing what he was looking for.

"No answer?" He asked mockingly. "We both work best when our 'patients' are unconscious." The Riddler laughed at his own joke, making her wince, wondering what was to come. Seeing her reaction he frowned. "Not funny?" He gave her a look of mock sympathy. She didn't move a muscle.

"Here is the 'deal'." He began, waving his gloved hand in the air. "If you refrain yourself from screaming, I will remove the gag." She nodded. "But If I do, and you cause a scene anyway, you will not be in such good shape. Understand?" She nodded again. "Good," He smiled, and moved towards her. She flinched when his hand made contact with her cheek, removing the offending material. "There, that's much better." She whimpered softly. "Now you may be wondering why I've brought you here…" He fixed the glove on his left hand.

Allison mumbled her response. "What was that?" The Riddler replied. He brought a hand to his ear.

"I said 'That would be nice to know.'" Allison returned her gaze to the ground, unable to look at her kidnapper any longer.

"Tsk, tsk… It's impolite to stare at the ground when talking to someone." He said with a certain amount of force. She struggled to lift her head again. "Much better." He couldn't help but look at her eyes. Big, almond shaped, blue eyes, speckled with flecks of what appeared to be lavender. "Your eyes are very… familiar." She raised an eyebrow. "Beautiful, yes, but as if I've seen them before." The Riddler drifted off, still staring intently at her. After a moment or so, he continued. "Well, back to the original topic. I need your help Doctor Capuano." He rubbed his chin, apparently embarrassed. "It appears that there is a type of puzzle I cannot solve." _What?_ Allison thought to herself. _How does he figure that I can solve a puzzle that he can't?_ He made various eccentric hand motions, struggling for words. "It appears that I am sick…" He paused, shifting uncomfortably. "And I need you to diagnose and hopefully cure me."

"I can't! I don't have any-" She began to protest. He waved a finger in the air _no._

"I have _acquired_ a vast amount of medical supplies in order for this to happen. Anything I lack, I'm sure I could… find." He grinned, twirling his cane, walking away. As he opened the door, he called back to her.

"Think it over _Allison._" Her name on his lips made Allison sick to her stomach. "I'll be back in a couple of hours, so please consider it… Not that you really have a choice." He laughed softly, slamming the heavy door closed behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors Note: BrocktreeJustLeft, thank you for reading! And yup. I'm trying to post as often as I can, hopefully at least once every few days (or at least as much as being in high school will allow XP).

Disclaimer: I still own nothing besides Doctor Capuano and her background.

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?It has been said that humans have a sort of biological clock that allows them to have an idea of what time it is, without any sort of clock or view of the sun. Allison knew this was a load of crap, because sitting in the cold, dark room; she could not be sure whether she had been there for hours, or days.

_Surely someone will come looking for me…_ She reassured herself, choking back more tears. _Or would they?_ Allison realized that she didn't have any really close friends in Gotham, outside of various close acquaintances from work. All of her friends from high school and college had moved away, gotten away from Gotham to other parts of the country, and even the world. She had somewhat lost contact, realizing that keeping in touch was almost impossible when they lived in Milan, and San Francisco and Ontario. She thought of Stacy, her best friend since kindergarten, tall, beautiful, off to model for famous designers in Italy. They had made a pact in third grade.

_"Whatcha doin'?" Stacey had squeaked, taking a seat next to Allison, who was busy coloring and shading a drawing of a sunflower she had made. _

_"Just drawing…" Allison had smiled, proud of her work and held it up for her friend to see. _

_"Woah Ali!" Stacey's eyes widened. "That's really pretty!" She admired the happy yellow sunflower._

_"Well I think it sucks!" Billy Borges was the biggest, meanest, and dirtiest kid in the class. He had no problem picking on girls either. Grinning like a madman, he had taken Allison's picture and ripped it in half. Laughing manically at his act, he walked away leaving Allison in tears._

_"What a dork!" Stacey had exclaimed, appalled by the disgusting boy. Then she noticed Allison crying. "Ali! Don't listen to him! You're a great drawer!" _

_"Really?" Allison wiped her nose on her sleeve._

_"Really Ali." She said with vigor. "You're going to be a famous artist one day! And dweebs like Billy Borges are going to be paying millions of dollars just to see a picture of your drawings!" She said loud enough or Billy to hear, waving a tiny fist in the air. _

_"You're right." Allison smiled. "And you're going to be famous fashion designer, making clothes that EVERYONE'S going to want to wear!" _

_"Exactly!" Stacey giggled. "Promise me?" She held out her pinky, waiting for a sacred pinky promise to be made. _

_"Of course." Allison grabbed Stacey's pinky with her own, sticking her tongue out at Billy in the process. _

But she hadn't gone to art school. She remembered junior year, when her portfolio for RISD was almost completely done, she had looked at her work, and decided that she wasn't good enough. It was difficult, but she had elected to toss her portfolio away, and instead go to medical school. After getting her degree, she had decided to stay in Gotham, realizing that it would have been much too difficult to move and find a job elsewhere. _Why hadn't I gotten out of this stupid city when I had the chance?_ She groaned, starting to regret every decision she'd made in the past 10 years.

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

"Hey boss!" One of his henchmen was speaking to him. _Good God, what do they want now? I already taught them how to work the microwave. _He suddenly remembered the benefit of using henchgirls; they were just as idiotic (perhaps even more so) but at least they were nice to look at.

"Yes?" He replied through a clenched jaw, slowly turning to face his three henchmen.

Two of the men pushed the third foreword, prompting him to speak. "We were just uh… wondering… uh… when we were goin' on another heist?" He said sheepishly.

The Riddler adjusted his hat. _A simple lie should suffice._ "Do you realize who that is in there?" He gestured to the door leading to Doctor Capuano. "She is the heir to a very extensive Gotham fortune. I've already put out a ransom for her return. All we can do now is wait. Now… leave me be." He shooed the three men, who retreated into another room quickly.

_Finally… _he rubbed his temples, trying to quell the insistent migraine that had been plaguing him for the past month or so. _I can have some peace._

He had elected to keep Doctor Capuano waiting for a few more hours, figuring she would be desperate for any form of escape by the time he returned. Maybe she could figure it out. He was aware that Allison Capuano was not the greatest doctor on earth. However, she was the most isolated, and it would be at least a week before anyone would realize she was missing. Hopefully she'd be able to figure out what was wrong before someone did recognize it.

He closed his eyes again, only to be greeted by the vision of those bright blue eyes again. _Why are these so important that I can't even close my eyes without being haunted?_ Again, blue eyes blinked up at him, glazed with tears this time. _Dammit._ The Riddler might be considered emotionless, but before he had put on his mask, he had merely been Eddie Nygma, gifted, self-centered, withdrawn, but more or less, just a boy. Who had had a best friend at one point… with the exact same blue and lavender eyes. _Aha, a breakthrough…_ Eddie though grimly to himself, picturing the young blonde girl who had been his best friend up until sixth grade, Adrian Jameson.

_"Hey!" Adrian caught up with a seven year old Eddie, on his way to the first day of second grade. "Wait up!" She ran up and cut him off, blocking him from walking any further. _

_"Yah?" He said, half expecting her to do something cruel, like knock the books out of his hands or spit at him. _

_"Hold on," She said and began to dig through her bubblegum pink backpack, her entire arm buried in the black hole that was almost every second grader's bag. After much effort, and an eye rolling from Eddie, she extracted a purple envelope from her bag and handed it to him. "Here," she smiled, "Open it!"_

_Reluctantly, Eddie tore open the envelope, and was left holding a card, with balloons and a tall cake on the front. "What is it?" _

_"An invitation silly," She playfully hit his shoulder, "to my birthday!" His eyes widened in disbelief. He hadn't ever been invited to a birthday party._

_"Thank you," He mumbled, and continued to walk, Adrian followed, walking right at his side. _

_"I've never had a birthday party before, so I'm really, really excited." She prattled on, waving her arms in the air. "And it's going to be a lot of fun!" _

_Somehow, Eddie doubted that she was being genuine. She probably just felt obligated to invite everyone in the class. He told himself. _

_As if she was reading his thought she smiled. "I really want you to be there." Eddie's face lit up. _

_"Really?" _

_"Really." She assured him. At that point Eddie knew that this girl was going to be his best friend, as they walked into their first day of second grade together, talking about birthday cakes and party games. _

The Riddler groaned. Stupidity is common among children and he was no exception, he reminded himself. Now, he had more pressing matters to attend to, rather than the hopes of a seven year old boy.

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

RISD is the Rhode Island School of Design. 

Thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note :)

Thank you both BrockTreeJustLeft and PineappleGrenade for reading!

And to answer your question PineappleGrenade later on, around chapter 7 or 8, there's going to be a very significant Hush spoiler (sorry that it wasn't stated earlier!). The Hush Arc was the first bunch of Batman comics I ever read, and I instantly fell in love with Harley and The Riddler :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I swear! Except for Doctor Allison Capuano :P

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

Part 4

Allison had almost settled into an uneasy sleep when the door swung open once again. "So, my dear, do we have a decision yet?" The Riddler said, twirling his cane as he spoke.

"I'll help you." She whimpered, refusing to look at him. _My, my, doesn't she look pitiful. _

"I'm not asking you to assist me, I'm just asking you to lend me your… expertise." He remarked before lifting her up off the ground.

"What-" She started but stopped when she saw him pull a knife out of his pocket. Her breathing stopped and she closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come. Instead none came, only the relief of her hands being released from their confines. Soon her ankles were free from their ropes, but in their place one was gripped by a heavy metal contraption. _So he hadn't killed her… yet_. She practically fell to the ground when he released her.

"Just a little precaution," He smiled cheerily, tapping the metal anklet with the end of his cane. "You see, if you do attempt to escape, and, by some wonder, succeed, you won't be getting too far. This building is wired with a sort of electric fence, you leave its confines, you get a shock, and while it won't be painful, it will paralyze you until I reverse it." The look of horror on her face startled him. "I apologize, but it's necessary that for now, you stay here and do what I've brought you here for." _He's apologizing for causing me pain? What kind of rogue is this guy? _ He had an extremely grim look on his face. _Wait, what does he think is wrong with him?_

"Alright," She agreed. "And after I _do what you've brought me here for,_" She repeated his words carefully, not wanting to be upset him, "do I get to go home?"

The Riddler's mouth curved up into a faint smile. "We'll see. Depends on how well you do your job."

"Alright," She responded patiently, "well then let's get started." She looked around. "Do you happen to have paper and a pen anywhere?" He raised an eyebrow. "To record your symptoms…" She added at his reluctance.

He reached into his pocket and handed her a small spiral notebook and a pen. "Why don't we go sit?" He gestured to two dusty armchairs. Allison sat down, and crossed her legs (very awkwardly mind you, as the metal anklet was all but convenient), and placed the notebook in her lap.

"So, erm… what's wrong?" It was strange watching him; he behaved as if he were a normal patient who had come into the hospital for help, as opposed to him being her kidnapper, demanding medical attention in a deserted warehouse.

"Constant headaches, nausea, frequently losing consciousness, and bouts of forgetfulness," he calmly listed his ailments, which she scribbled down carefully.

She glanced down at the list, noting that it was most likely something neurological. _Oh the irony…_ She thought to herself. "I'm assuming that you have already ruled out any casual illnesses such as influenza…" She trailed off.

"Naturally," his gaze was fixed on her notes. "That would be why you are currently here."

"Oh yes," She looked around. "Erm…" She began timidly, but stopped. _With such general symptoms, it could be a whole list of diseases and disorders. _ She tapped her foot on the ground nervously. Allison had never encountered a rogue before, but she knew they were known for two things: their rapid-fire mood swings, and their lack of patience. Allison prepared her next words carefully, hoping to not end up in the police report as the next Riddler victim.

"Is there a problem?" He gave her a skeptical look, gripping his cane tighter than usual, preparing himself for just about anything.

Allison gulped nervously. "I don't… know what it is just yet." She paused, and then frantically burst out. "But if you give me more time, I know I can figure it out!" She exclaimed, running her words together, her voice several octaves higher than usual.

Her outburst took the Riddler by surprise. "Very well," He said and stood up. "I have a rather extensive library of medical text that you may use." The Riddler straightened his jacket a bit, and advanced to the door. "And Miss Capuano," He called back from the doorway. "I'm not like the Joker or Two-Face in that I commit murder regularly. I'd like to let you know that I have not killed anyone in around four or five years." He added coldly and slammed the door, the noise echoing throughout the room for much longer than it should have.


	5. Chapter 5

Authors Note: Double Update! Because I have Winter Ball this weekend (late I know x_x) and won't be able to update again until Monday! Enjoy and please review!

Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape, or form, own anything in this story besides Allison Capuano. The rest I am just borrowing.

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

Part 5

The Riddler was not one for excessive homicidal anger, preferring to settle his issues in less violent, passive aggressive manners like setting up torturous death traps, or leaving unsolvable riddles for his enemies to solve. He was insulted that she believed that he committed senseless mayhem, as opposed to his carefully plotted deeds.

He practically fell into the nearest arm chair, rubbing his tired eyes under his mask. This whole thing was immensely stressful, as he had never had to leave his own fate in the hands and intellect of another person. It annoyed him, this situation he was in, to have the need for another person (even such a minor one), as he had lived so long on his own. Edward Nigma was (and is) a metaphorical island. Well except for one person… but that had ended years ago.

_"Eddie!" Adrian was chasing after him, shaking a gloved fist in the air. "Stop!" She cried, but to her dismay the boy kept trudging through the snow, shuffling his feet. The new puzzle book was tucked carefully under his arm. Pushing a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes, she ran and put herself in Eddie's path. _

_He frowned. "What do you want?" He held his prize close to him._

_Adrian lowered her voice; her eyes practically glowing. "I know what you did." Her voice squeaked._

_Eddie panicked. "What?" He said, hoping his face wasn't as red as it felt. Adrian's expression never faltered._

_"I know you cheated on the puzzle game!" She whispered, her arms folded across her chest._

_"Did not!" Eddie mocked. Leave it to Adrian to completely see through his charade._

_"Eddie, I don't know how you did it, but I know you saw that puzzle before everyone else." Eddie gulped, thinking back to his half and hour walk to the school the night before, using his mother's hair pin to pick the locks on the school, and finding the puzzle. He almost smiled to himself, thinking of how his parents hadn't even noticed he was gone. It was pretty crafty of him to think of it, but even more so for her to figure out he cheated._

_He looked down at the ground. Adrian wasn't about to understand that he had to. That the one thing he had to be proud of, his intelligence, was at stake? "I didn't do anything…" He mumbled, and continued to walk. _

_"Eddie!" She followed him, still trying to get through to her friend. "You know you did, and you know that it's not fair to everyone else!" _

_How dare she suggest that someone besides him could have won! "I would have won, with or without cheating." He growled. "And why do you even care? It's not like you could have done it anyway." His words apparently hit a nerve, and her features grew dark._

_"You are nothing but a cheater Edward Nygma!" Adrian yelled, stepped on his foot with impossible force, and ran off, leaving a very stunned Eddie, with a very bruised ego. _

The sound of metal hitting the ground shook Eddie from his memory. His face contorted into what could only be described as a snarl as he turned to face his bumbling henchman number two. What had he decided to call him? Eddie brought a hand to his head. _Conundrum! That was it!_

"Conundrum, is there a problem?" The Riddler raised an eyebrow, eyeing the pieces of metal in the man's hands. Suddenly recognizing the pieces as the deathtrap he had been working on, his face turned a brilliant shade of fuchsia. "Is that… what I **think**__it is?"

"It's ah- no- it was an- Quiz was the one who-" He stuttered, waving his hands madly in the air, dropping several pieces to the ground with a sickening clatter.

"I'm going to tell you something, and I'd like you to pass it on to Quiz and…" He rolled his eyes, the name escaping him again.

"You call 'im Question." Conundrum interrupted his thoughts yet again.

"I know!" He growled. "Now, the man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know. What is it?" He grinned.

After a moment of apparent internal struggle from the man, he sighed. "I don't know boss."

"A coffin," The Riddler said slowly and softly. "And if you touch anything else of mine without my permission, you are all going to be in _dire _need of one." The Riddler's eyes narrowed murderously, and the henchman all but ran out of the room, leaving the rogue to plan how exactly he was going to leave those three out to be picked up by the Batman.

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

Blank pieces of paper hold an entire world of possibilities. It may become a poem, homework, a prescription, a doodle, lyrics, a shopping list, a Christmas list and several other everyday things. It all depends on the person holding the pen.

A blank piece of paper lay before Allison. She knew that there was a chance that she would not leave here. Whether she never figures it out, or she angers the Riddler to the point where he breaks his five-year streak, Allison Capuano might never return to her little apartment on Brookdale Ave, or her cozy attending job at Gotham General.

She sighed, shaking her head, as she had elected to turn this blank sheet of paper into a love letter. _If I get out of her, I'm going to tell James how I feel._ Allison curved her fingers around the blue ballpoint pen the Riddler had left with her, and began to write.

_Dear James,_

She stopped, looking at her neat curvy writing, and crumbled up the paper. Way too formal…

_James,_

_We've known each other for almost three years now, and certain… events in my life, have caused me to think in a completely different way. _

She continued to write, everything and anything she had felt for the past three years, about her friend and mentor. Smiling even, as she wrote, she dotted her i's and crossed her t's carefully, and finally, when she was finally satisfied with her letter, she ended it.

_Love always,_

_Allison_

And while Allison felt much better, having her thoughts out on paper, she frowned. She took the five pages of her letter, held them before her, and tore them in half, letting the torn fragments fall to the floor, and returned to the neurology text she had been reading before.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Last Update until next week! Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: If only I owned The Riddler…*sigh*

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

Part 6

Patience is a virtue. And like most rogues, Edward Nymga neglected to have virtues, which left him pacing across the common room of his warehouse, toying with his hat, his mask, the cane, anything that he could get his hands on, nervously contemplating the outcome of his current situation. The hours had left him with little to do besides worry.

_What if I have some inherited disorder? _He bit on the end of his thumb. _Oh my parents would be the ones to pass down some genetic abnormality as such. _"What means everything to one person, but nothing to the rest of the world?" He mused cynically to himself, tapping the cane against the ground on the last syllable. The sound echoed through the room. "Your mind…" He said, answering his own query.

He had known something was wrong during his last big heist. His head was pounding, and he could hear his own heartbeat thundering in his ears. Upon arriving at the elite party he had intended on looting, he didn't feel right. The entrance to Wayne Manor began to spin, causing him to almost collapse right there.

Somehow he had worked through that spell, and succeeded in announcing his presence at the party, shedding his black jacket, revealing the green beneath. But his mind was still off; for a moment he had even forgotten who the Prince of Gotham, Bruce Wayne was! And then sometime after lifting everything valuable off of Bruce and his Russian supermodel date, he had blacked out.

The next time his eyes managed to fight there way open, he was greeted by pitch black, a freezing stone floor beneath him, and his green suit replaced with the usual orange Arkham jumpsuit. After a long stream of anagrammed curses, and a few anguished screams, The Riddler had settled down, accepting the fact that he was once again, in Arkham Asylum.

"_Hey Riddles!" The Joker's high pitched squeal rang through Eddie ears. Already? The Riddler groaned. "Riddles!" He repeated with more menace._

_"Yes Joker?" He finally responded, not wanting to get on The Joker's wrong side again. He recalled the previous time, where he had woken up dressed as a court jester, hung by his ankles from the ceiling._

_"I got a riddle for ya!" He giggled to himself. The Riddler rolled his eyes. _

_"Do tell!" As exuberant as he could, The Riddler waited for the inmate next door's riddle._

_"How do you stop a dog from barking in July?" The silence that followed was threatening._

_"You shoot it in June, Joker." He responded after a few moments._

_Screeching laughter followed. "Ah Riddles! You are a tricky one! Yes you are…" The laughter slowly subsided. "Hope your mind never goes, or you're going to be in a lot of trouble!" Never before in The Riddler's entire existence as a rogue had the Joker made as much sense as he did then. _

Just remembering those words, The Riddler shook with both anger, and a bit of fear. Sometimes, it appeared that the Joker knew much more than he let on.

_Ok,_ he said to himself, advancing towards the door leading to Doctor Capuano. _Time to go see what the good doctor has for me_; he opened the door, strolling through the doorway once again.

"Oh Doctor!" He called, striding in with mock confidence. The Riddler raised an eyebrow when there was no immediate response. "Allison?" He let her first name out, which he knew would get a rise out of her.

He approached the coach where he had left her, only to find the woman curled up on the couch among piles of books and papers, settled into what was surely a very uneasy sleep. He rolled his eyes. "Wake up!" He whacked his cane against the wooden table, the blunt, hollow noise pulling her from her slumber.

Doctor Capuano whimpered, her eyelids slowly parting. It took her a moment to realize where she was. When she remembered that she was currently being help captive by a hardened criminal, she sat straight up in a panic, holding a couch cushion close to her.

"Rise and shine," he grinned. "Have you made any progress?"

She blinked, "Not yet," she paused. "It would probably be a huge help to have an MRI done," She looked up at the masked man. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare MRI machine anywhere around here, would you?"

"Alas, I do not." He sighed. "I hoped it wouldn't be necessary." He whipped out another notebook from his pocket and began jotting down some notes of his own. _How many mini notebooks does the man carry with him?_ Allison wondered, bemused by him.

"What are you doing?" She asked as innocently as she could manage.

He looked up for a moment, with an almost deranged look on his face. "Trying to figure out how we're going to get a damn MRI machine and **Adding Twirlier**." He said the last part with vigor.

_What? Adding Twirlier?_ Allison officially knew that the Riddler was off his rocker. Noticing her confused expression, he rolled his eyes. "It's an anagram, I'm **writing a riddle.**" Not that he really wanted to… He could not afford to be caught by the Bat in such a dire situation. But here he was, working on another riddle, that if properly figured out, would tell Batman what he was doing and where. After a few silent minutes, The Riddler stood up. "I'm going to go work on this," he gestured to the paper. "There is a bookcase over there," he pointed. "You can read if you so wish." And with that he left the room, leaving Allison alone once again.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Thanks Brock for reading! :)  
Sorry it took so long to post, verryyyy busy weekend!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I'm just borrowing anything you recognize.

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

Part 7

One doesn't just _go_ insane. It's a gradual process, slowly building up, and leading to the big finish: the dive off the deep end. And most rogues could pinpoint the exact moment when they had taken the dive. Group sessions at Arkham always revolved around a specific topic; one particular time it was "when was the first spark of criminality lit?"

"The moment I felt the burn of the acid," Harvey began as he always did when he told his story, both eyes gleaming, as if now he looked back on it as a fond memory. "It was liking waking up after a deep sleep. And I saw the bat, through my good eye, and my bad eye, and knew this was where I was going to end up." He grimaced as Doctor Leland scribbled down his words into her notebook.

"Very good Harvey," Next to Harvey was Harley, who was caught in a fit of giggles at her own private joke. "Harleen," Doctor Leland's voice was calm and patient. "Your turn."

"The moment my lips touched Mistah J's…" Harley's eyes glossed over when she talked about the Joker. "I knew I needed him, and he needed me." Lost in her own fake memory, she failed to notice the various scoffs and chuckles from her peers.

The Riddler, referred to as Edward when incarcerated, had a harder time pinpointing his own moment of insanity. He had never liked to think about what drove him to do what he does, nor had he ever had to. After a long moment of pondering, he sighed. "I guess it would have to be the day I was fired from the Carnival I worked at." This was half true. That day he was fired, but that had only been the after effect.

_The Great , Master of Puzzles and Riddles._

_The sign hanging over his head sang his praises, bold purple writing scrawled across a green background, decorated with question marks. He loved it. He loved his sign; he loved the money; he loved the devastated looks on people's faces as they walked away defeated. That, he loved more than anything else. _

_Who was he kidding?_

_Everyday, he dreaded coming to this wretched place, opening up his god damned booth, and revealing his knowledge to those who did not appreciate it. But he had to pretend, because where else could he belong? College, he had decided was not for him, especially when he was smarter than most of his professors. He hadn't talked to his parents in years, since he had gone off to "college." So he stayed here, rotting away in this disease ridden, death trap. _

_So far, on this particular day, he had made around one hundred dollars, and it was only noon. Counting the crinkled bills in his lock box, he grinned, the money was one thing he definitely enjoyed, but hastily stuffed them away as a man about his age walked up to the book._

_" huh?" The man said, running a hand through auburn hair. "Clever."_

_"I like to think so." Edward smiled. "So what challenge will it be?"_

_"The cube," The man grinned, and Eddie returned the gesture, just picturing the arrogant man's defeat. Edward placed four mixed up Rubix cubes on the table._

_"You can pick on for me, and one for yourself." The man took his time, carefully selecting his own cube, and then placing another one in from of Edward. Not that it will matter, Edward thought, he knew these cubes like the back of his hand, excuse the cliché._

_"Very well." Edward took the cube in his hand. "Go." The two men began turning and contorting the cube, and after barely 5 minutes the man set his down. _

_"Finished." Edward groaned, looking up. Not possible. He shook his hand frantically, examining the cube. "I get $50 right?" Edward was speechless, searching the cube for any indication that his adversary had cheated. The stickers on the blocks were all perfectly arranged. He had genuinely lost. _

_Edward took a deep breath. "That is right. What is your name?" He took a black marker from under the table._

_"David Russell," The man grinned as Edward lettered his name on the formerly empty "Winners" column. Edward sulked, counting out the money, barely able to keep his fingers from fidgeting. _

_"Honey, are you done playing games?" A softer voice rang in Edward's ears, almost surreal. Standing beside his opposition was a slender blonde woman, who had snaked her arm around his. But Edward noticed none of this, just blue and lavender eyes._

_"Adrian?" He was not able to stop himself before the name slipped through his lips. _

_The woman's lips thinned, and a look of recognizing passed over her face. "Edward," Her tone was almost scolding. "It's been a while huh?"_

_"Five years next month," Edward honestly could have recited the days, hours, and minutes since he had last seen her, at graduation. She looked practically the same. _

_"Yes," She smiled nervously, looking away from his gaze. "How have you been?_

_Her words weren't hateful, or stern, just honest. "I've been very good," He lied, and she probably knew it, but he didn't care. "And yourself?"_

_"Oh I graduated from GU last year, for teaching…" He looked to the man at her side. "And oh, this is Dave, my fiancé." _

_Although he had been expecting it, the words hit him like a metaphorical truck to the side of the head. David was the better man, in intelligence, and he had gotten the girl. He barely knew this man and he hated him._

_And then he snapped. Somewhere between this moment and the next, he had jumped over the counter and tackled David to the ground. Within a few seconds, he was being lifted up by the collar of his shirt by David, and was taken off the premises by the police, screaming anagrammed curses and death threats to all who made eye contact. _

_I never could handle losing, Edward had though merrily to himself at the time._

And once again he was jerked awake, pulled from his inner musings, only to find himself in the back of a car, one of his henchmen driving the car. He glanced behind him to see a rusty old van, with a vague question marked shaped smudge on the window. Somewhere in the distance he heard sirens.

At this point, the Riddler was both ludicrously happy, and mildly scared. They had gotten the MRI machine, meaning that he was one step closer to solving this damn riddle of his. The sad part was, that he didn't remember one moment of his glorious heist.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Sorry this one took a while! I needed to do a bit of research for this one, as I am no brain surgeon. Hopefully it's worth it! I tried to include a bit of humanity within the Riddler with this one. The Joker, as well as other rogues, I think, has lost pretty much all humanity he ever had, but the Riddler I think still has his sanity in certain respects. Chapter 9 will probably be the last chapter in this one. =(

Thank you BrocktreeJustLeft for reading, I honestly wasn't expecting anyone to read considering this is my first story :)

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the Riddler or Gotham of Batman or anything else you recognize. Only Allison Capuano is mine. :P

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

Part VIII

The quality of Henchmen in Gotham had gone down drastically in Gotham over the years. Twenty years ago, when the Riddler was just starting his criminal career, henchmen had been strong, almost intelligent individuals, willing to complete almost any request in order to climb up the criminal ladder.

Now-a-days, most henchmen were anything but respectable. They were more or less Neanderthals, who just wanted quick money. And it appears that the Riddler had hit the jackpot of idiocy when he had picked up his current Query, Conundrum, and Question.

Conundrum was the most tolerable of the lot, expect for his obsession with sports. It was if the man had a physical need to watch every sports event on television. This was his first henching job though, and he was in rude awakening for his next job, as most rogues were not as tolerant as The Riddler. Question had apparently dropped out of school in the seventh grade, and had survived henching for the Joker, for which The Riddler gave him quite a deal of credit. However, he had not made it out unscathed; he laughs whenever he hears screaming, and still answers to "Chuckles."

Query was the one that made the Riddler particularly nervous. The only way to describe him was "vile." Large and overall disgusting, Query had served a three year sentence in Blackgate for whatever despicable crime he had committed. More than once, Riddler had had to order him to the getaway vehicle, as he was too busy harassing the woman in the building.

One may be wondering why The Riddler didn't just fire them if they were such a burden. But in Gotham, the rogue-henchmen relationship is a very complicated one. It was assumed that upon hiring, the henchmen were sworn to secrecy of all deeds committed by their employer, until the henchman/girl either fails to complete their henching duties, or is captured by the authorities. But until that time, the rogue was obligated to keep that henchman/girl around.

So The Riddler's dilemma here was… how was he going to get those three caught by the police without exposing himself?

Well for now, nothing… The Riddler groaned, as the last of the equipment was thudded onto the ground. _But soon, _he reassured himself; _these three will be prime Bat-bait._ But until then, he had things to accomplish.

And this, of course, involved stealing an MRI machine from North Gotham Hospital. What he didn't intend on was hauling surely a ton of very breakable equipment across the city. And with the bumbling henchmen he was cursed with, it was nearly impossible.

But they had succeeded, and in what was formerly a small library of his warehouse was chuck just of monitors and the machine_. Beautiful_, he thought to himself.

"Get Dr. Capuano, Query." he barked, his eyes still fixed on the machine.

"Yes sir." the man disappeared into the other room, the steel door slamming behind him. Query scanned the room, fixing his gaze on the young woman sleeping on the couch. He grinned, and approached the couch.

"Wake up doll," He grabbed her shoulder, pulling her into a sitting position. "The boss wants ya."

"Ok," She mumbled, struggling to get up, but found herself pinned underneath the man's grasp on her shoulder.

"Don't worry; I can see ya in a fragile state 'ere. I'll just carry ya in!" The man picked her up, his arm resting on her bottom. She started to speak but he interrupted her. "I know, I'm a real gentleman ain't I? How 'bout a kiss?" He stopped in the doorway, leaning forward.

Completely disgusted, Allison slapped the man as hard as she could manage. But Query just laughed.

"You're a feisty one huh?" He brought a hand to his slightly pink cheek, carefully setting her down to the floor; still keep a firm grip on her shoulder. Grinning, he slammed her head into the wall, eliciting a low whimper from Allison. "Too bad you don't got any manners."

?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

In the other room, The Riddler kept squirming, fixing his gloves, adjusting his hat, aching to figure out what was wrong.

Query soon reappeared with Allison in tow. Her head was down as she walked, stumbling a bit with each step.

"Doctor," Allison lifted her head revealing a bloody lip, tears streaming down pale cheeks. His face darkened. "Query?" His voice was a growl. "What happened to Doctor Capuano?"

The man grinned slightly, despite the menacing look of The Riddler's face, making Allison sick to her stomach. "She tripped." Query shrugged his shoulders.

_Bill Tush._ The Riddler thought to himself. "Very well," He thought for a moment. _I can afford to get rid of them now._ "While the good doctor and I chat, I need you three to visit an acquaintance of mine." He scribbled an address down on a piece of paper. "He has something I require." _Yes, a means to rid myself of three poor henchmen._ The three men lingered. "Go!" He barked, and the three men scurried out of the room.

After hearing the final slamming of the door, The Riddler yanked a purple handkerchief from the pocket of his jacket, handing it to her. "I apologize on behalf of those three."

She wiped her lip, "Thank you."

"They were given specific instructions not to harm you, but then again, henchmen in this town aren't known for their humanity." He pressed a few buttons on the control board.

"Where did you send them?" The Riddler chuckled to himself. "What?" Allison asked, imagining about a hundred horrifying possibilities.

"The acquaintance I sent them off to meet happens to be Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow. He's not one for visitors. We shouldn't be expecting them back anytime soon." He remembered the time he had intruded upon Jonathan's lair, and shuddered, recalling the hallucinations of flaming bats that had plagued him for three weeks after the incident.

"I see..." She folded the handkerchief several times, placing it in the pocket of her sweats, nonchalantly.

"All things aside, I believe I have this set up properly," He took one last look at the machine, obviously still shaking with anger.

"If you're all set," Allison said, approaching him, gazing down at the monitor. "I guess we can get you set up then…"

Twenty minutes later, the machine was ready to go, and the Riddler was lying on the cot, clad in a dreaded hospital gown. It had been a while since he had worn something besides green, and in the pale blue gown, he felt exceptionally naked.

"Are you ready yet, Doctor?" The Riddler was border-line whining at this point, not that anyone could blame him, and the freezing atmosphere of the warehouse did nothing for the cool plastic of the MRI machine.

"Just about," He heard her clacking away at a keyboard. "Now, you need to stay perfectly still. And if there any problems just yell for me to stop the machine."

"Fine, let's just get this done." He snapped back, he saw her frown ever so slightly from the other side of the glass wall that had been set up. "I didn't mean to come off as rude, I'm just anxious." He said softly.

"Alright," She pressed another set of buttons, and the machine began to roar. Soon, The Riddler was fully engulfed in the machine, hearing the beeping and the churning of the gears.

The literal moment of truth was upon him, where his ultimate fate was to be determined by, honestly, a second-rate doctor. What if he had Alzheimer's? That would be the ultimate irony of the world. He had spent years perfecting his thought process and caring for his mind and all of that would be destroyed. He tried to keep himself from shaking, from anger, from anticipation, and from a bit of fear.

A beeping sounded, his guess signaling the end of the test, and he was slowly released from the machine. Once Doctor Capuano was in his field of vision, he knew that things had not gone well. Her hand was covering her mouth, her eyes fixed on the main screen. "Doctor?" He called, still not receiving her attention. "What is it?" She shook her head and typed a few more keystrokes. From the printer above her head, a long sheet of paper appeared, which she grabbed and carried into the other room. She pulled a chair over to sit next to him, gripping the bundle of paper tightly.

_He's a patient._ Allison told herself, sitting down next to him. _And he needs to hear this as if he were any other person. _She glanced down at the scan once again. There couldn't be a mistake with this diagnosis.

"You have a type of cancer." She spoke slowly, showing him the printed scan of his brain. "Brainstem glioma, which is incredibly rare in adults," She pointed out a mass at the bottom of the scan. The Riddler's breathing halted.

"Cancer," He nodded, "Then I can be cured? Chemotherapy, radiation, surgery…" He trailed off, waving his hands in the air. Allison bit her lower lip. "There _must_ be something!" He slammed his fist down on the cot, the noise echoing through the room.

She placed a hand over his, surprising him at the contact. "Because of the location, your lower brainstem, and your age, it makes it inoperable, and chemo and radiation will have no effect. They'll only make you sicker at this point."

The Riddler's jaw was clenched tightly. "At this point meaning?"

She cleared her throat. "The cancer has been developing for a while now. I'm so sorry, Mr.-" Allison paused, brows furrowed, she had no idea what his actual name was.

"Nigma, Edward Nigma." He said softly. "How long would you presume I have?"

"I'd say about two or three months." Her voice broke ever so slightly. Without the mask, and the cane, Edward Nigma was just a man, who at this point was scared, and absolutely alone. Somehow, the fate of the hardened criminal was much sadder than that of any other patient she had had. Most patients had family, or at least friends to comfort them, he had no one.

"Interesting…" He said, his voice lacking all emotion. "Will it be…?" He shook his head, "Painful?"

"By the looks of it, you'll start to become unaware of your surroundings for longer lengths of time, different systems will begin to shut down and then eventually…" She trailed off. "It won't be painful, but very difficult."

"Damn. I could have handled the pain." He sighed, resting his head in his hands. He coughed and sat back up. "As promised, I'll be returning you to your home by tomorrow." She nodded. "You have been endlessly helpful Miss Capuano." And with that, he stood up and left the room.


End file.
